The present invention relates to a waterproof footwear, and in particular a footwear which can be provided with a semipermeable or breathable, i.e. impermeable to water and permeable to water vapor, upper portion. The present invention also relates to a process for manufacturing said footwear.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,227 discloses footwear comprising a lower portion of an upper, which is made of a molded waterproof material and is joined by means of two seams to a leather upper portion which has a substantially tubular shape and is lined internally with a waterproof membrane. The seams pierce the waterproofing membrane, so that a waterproof tape must be glued onto the seams for preventing the penetration of water into the footwear. However, the application of the waterproof tape inside the finished footwear is relatively difficult, especially if the footwear is a boot, so that the lower portion of the upper is preferably provided with a wide lower opening for easily reaching the area to be waterproofed. Therefore, it is impossible or at least unadvisable to manufacture the lower portion of the upper in a single piece with the sole of the footwear.
For overcoming this disadvantage, U.S. Pat. No. 6,115,940 discloses a lower portion of the upper which can be carried out in a single piece of a material molded with a sole. As a matter of fact, the upper edge of the lower portion of the upper is provided with an inner lip which can be easily glued onto this edge for sealing the seams. However, this solution requires a particular mould for obtaining said lip in a single piece with the lower portion of the upper with consequently higher manufacturing costs. Furthermore, the presence of the lip hampers the seaming of the lower portion of the upper to its upper portion.